Savior
by AnHeiressofaSOLDIER
Summary: "Vanitas' feet start moving of their own accord closer to Aqua; he sees that Aqua is standing at a memorial of sorts. 'Who have you lost' 'Myself.'" On Christmas Eve, Vanitas and Aqua put aside their differences. Gift fic. Not AU. One-shot.


**Savior**

**(A gift fic for the dear Alacquiene's birthday).**

**Enjoy!**

The snow falls atop the unsuspecting people as gently as a bird flutters its wings. In fact, Vanitas can't help but laugh at how funny the celebrating people look with feathers in their hair. Because what did snow matter to the enigmatic boy?

In answer, the snow matters nothing to him. It made irritating scrunching noises, and dampened his socks, but other than that it gave him no harm. However, it did make the citizens of France, without the benefits of a helmet; look as though molted feathers were in their hair.

For once, something that was harmful was amusing Vanitas rather than hurting him. He found that he was very much like the snow. He was dangerous, but beautiful. And though he was arrogant, not even he would have thought this had it not been for the passing by females; they had seen him in an attempt to dislodge a few stray snowflakes from the crevices of his helmet.

But what mostly reminds Vanitas of himself in the frozen water, is that it would not have been dangerous if people knew how to deal with it. But the people he did know didn't know how to deal with him, and he was banned by his Master to meet other people.

It is no wonder that on Christmas Eve he is stuck to his solitude, and envyingly watching families of the world hang wreaths and decorate Christmas trees. In fact, he himself is sitting high up in one of the prized Douglas Firs as he watches the civilians go about their last minute shopping. Thankfully his armor keeps him from feeling too much of the cool night air, and his Keyblade is always handy if an annoying bird wanders too close.

The smell of oven roasted turkey, and gingerbread cookies wafts up towards him, and he imagines himself using a Gravity spell to steal a few when the families stray away from their plates. With a grin, he imagines the horror stricken look that Aqua might wear on her face if she knew he would steal from some of the poor families, when he could easily go to town and buy something with the munny he's scrounged up.

And as if he'd verbally spoken of the devil herself, who was he to see but Aqua strolling along the town square? Annoyingly, he realizes he wants to know what she is doing there. Even more annoying, he knows that she'll soon be gone from his line of vision.

Cursing to himself, Vanitas opens a Corridor of Darkness, only to appear a few stories lower. He is trying to figure out how to best follow her without her notice (suddenly the too loud snow had turned enemy to him), but before he can decide, she has entered the church on the very outskirts of the square.

Figuring he is going to Hell anyway, Vanitas decides that he will accompany her inside. She's never seen his face before, and she'd think nothing of him joining her on this night of all nights. Many people were going for the Midnight Masse. And maybe, just maybe, he'd find the Salvation he'd wanted from the beginning of his days. The Salvation he'd all too right given up on.

Stepping out of the shadows, Vanitas removes his mask, puts it behind a massive boulder, and wills his armor to dematerialize. He is left in nothing but a gray polo shirt, and black jeans. As the wind, and chill factor frustratingly pick up, Vanitas puts the speed he prides himself on to the test.

Running to the church as fast as he can, he can't help but wish someone insignificant like Ventus were behind him to block the wind. Maybe if he hadn't been thinking with his heart like an idiot, he would have realized that he could have changed a bit closer to the heated building.

At last, the cobblestone disappears, and nothing but a bit of frozen grass stands where it had been. A couple yards away is the church that he had seen from far away, but he almost wonders if "church" is the right word for it. Surely "cottage" would have been more of an adept choice.

Vanitas pauses at the entrance of the church, and catches his breath. The cold is only helping to contract his lungs and make breathing far less tolerable. Not that being in Aqua's presence in good conditions wasn't just as bad. Her Light burned and ripped at his Darkness, but as he looks at her through a picturesque window, he finds he couldn't care less.

At the very front of the room, near the pulpit, Aqua stands illuminated by candlelight. As the orange light casts an ethereal glow to her face, Vanitas finds he can't understand why these people would pray to some God they couldn't see when a very real angel was standing right in front of them.

With a bittersweet smile, Aqua places the candle next to many others, and as Vanitas' feet start moving of their own accord into the church, and closer to Aqua, he sees that Aqua is standing at a memorial of sorts for lost ones. As he dares to stand beside her, and let the warmth of the candle flames soothe a part of him he'd thought long gone, he has to ask, "Who have you lost?"

And maybe she thinks that she's talking to herself because with a short sniffle, she answered resignedly, "Myself."

Vanitas considers Aqua for a moment, but she doesn't seem to want to say much more than that. Vanitas, not really realizing what he's doing, grabs a candle tray himself. He quickly lights it, and sets it next to Aqua's. The candle flames dance closely together, but they never touch. Vanitas can't help but feel that they are taunting him.

"This is for my parents," Vanitas says more to fill the silence than anything else. He'sthought of talking to Aqua many times, but thought the opportunity would never arise. Especially not after he'd attacked her in Radiant Garden; surely Aqua would only have battle threats for him after that, but he still had wondered how things would be if everything was different. Now a chance had presented itself, but it didn't seem like it was a good day to approach her.

He was sadly about to turn around and leave when she says, "I'm sorry,"

Once again, she hadn't said a lot, but Vanitas is captivated nonetheless. Suddenly, he is overcome with a strange desire to convince Aqua to talk to him. They'd both been alone too much lately, and who really deserved to be alone on Christmas Eve? However, Vanitas does not want it to be about sympathy. "I never knew them. They could still be alive for all I know. All I know is that I'm an orphan, and the road to my parents has been cut off from me."

_Idiot! What is wrong with me? Why on Earth did I say all of that? I learned long ago to control my thought and emotions. I've learned to turn pain and fear into power, and yet here I am talking like some whiny brat from a Soap Opera! And what happened to not wanting sympathies?_

Some of Vanitas' internal struggle must have been noticed by Aqua. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she looks deeply into his eyes, and offers him a sweet smile. "I don't think they would have left you by choice. To be forced to break ties is one thing, but to _choose_ to do it…"

As Aqua turns away from him, and the hand she had offered turned tense, Vanitas doesn't have to guess at what has upset her. He'd, of course, been there when Ventus, Terra, and Aqua had had their misunderstanding. His Master had made sure that he was there. Their separation was the key to their plans, after all. So why did he suddenly feel bad about it all? Why did he seem so far away from the truth? Why did he feel like he and Aqua were old friends catching up?

"It's okay, you know," Vanitas says as he saw tears brimming in the corners of Aqua's eyes. "Whatever it is, the Holidays bring people closer together. I'm sure everything will work itself out," and oddly enough, he _wants_ it to. Maybe not for Ven. His Salvation still rested with the creation of the X-Blade, but maybe things could work out for Terra and Aqua.

In fact, Vanitas would be _delighted_ if the old man got what was coming to him. There was a malicious smile on Vanitas' face now. Maybe that was why he was so surprised when Aqua broke out into a laugh, and walked a little closer to her candle. "I'm having an adventure of sorts," it wasn't lost to Vanitas that Aqua was talking in an unserious manner as to protect the World Order, "and my friends and I have gotten into a bit of a fight. I _know _I was right," And she cringes at that, perhaps expecting Vanitas not to believe her, but she carries on anyway. "But maybe I overcompensated. I can't help feeling that by the end of this I'll lose myself. That's why I lit a candle for myself."

And just like that, Vanitas can't even consider using her to forge the X-Blade. Whatever the reason, he could not bear the thought of her worst fear coming true. He knew that if she became the X-Blade, she would be lost. And that would be unendurable. Not for the only person who had ever shown him the least bit of kindness. Even if she didn't know who he was. "You won't lose yourself,"

And he says it so surely, so strongly, that Aqua literally staggers backwards. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because," Vanitas can't help but say with a wry smile, "you're too strong. And you're too knowledgeable of your shortcomings. You wouldn't let them overcome you. And above all else, you have good intentions."

And it's only then that Vanitas realizes how close they've drifted together. As he leans ever closer, Aqua leans further into the wall behind her. It annoys Vanitas to no end, but what could he have expected really? They're still themselves. They're still Vanitas and Aqua. So why does he feel so far away from that knowledge? "How do you know I have good intentions?" Aqua asks with a slight catch in her throat.

_Because I know your heart's pure Light. _"Because you wouldn't be fretting if you didn't. Besides," Vanitas begins with a wicked smile on his face, and for a moment, he can't help but feel he _is _taunting her, "you've been talking to me all this time, haven't you? I'm a complete stranger. For all you know, I could be an axe murder."

And it's evident in the way that Aqua's eyes bulge and she gasps, that she never once considered that option. She stands a bit closer to Vanitas, despite the Darkness she must be feeling, when she says, "I choose to believe in people."

Vanitas moves just as close as she did, when he says, "It'll be the death of you." And as golden eyes lock onto blue ones, Vanitas wills Aqua to see that. Because even though she could change for her friends, Vanitas knew firsthand that they wouldn't for her. Her blind faith in Ventus and Terra would lead to her demise. More likely than not, it would be by his hand.

Aqua's just about to respond with a firm look in her eyes, when an elderly woman steps forward and says, "You might like to be seated, dear. The sermon's about to start."

With a blush, and a smile, Aqua thanks the woman, and quickly walks to the entrance she'd come in. It's at this moment that Vanitas realizes that she'd never intended to stay for the message. No, she only came to pray for things to end well on this blessed night. As always, Aqua would continue to search for her friends, ignoring the most sacred Holiday of all.

"Would you like to do something with me?" Vanitas asks before he can stop himself. Aqua blinks at him as she turns around from the coat rack (at least she'd been smart enough to buy something for the weather). She's quiet for a moment, as she puts the gray wool on. Vanitas almost laughs at how it matches his shirt. Almost.

Finally, "What if you're an axe murder?" Aqua asks with a raised eyebrow and kind smirk.

At that Vanitas can't help but laugh. And laugh. And laugh. No other time has he actually had a reason to laugh. And not in an evil way either. Finally he sobers up, and thankfully, Aqua doesn't judge him at all. "You won't find an axe on me." That was what his Keyblade was for, but for once he pushed away the macabre thought.

And with another small laugh of her own, Aqua beckons Vanitas forward. Surprisingly, she even latches her hand onto his. As her fingers interlace with Vanitas', the dark apprentice finds he doesn't have words to express how he feels. "You'll freeze if you don't have some kind of body heat against you," Aqua says as she drags Vanitas down the now snow covered cobblestone path.

Vanitas, of course, has many inappropriate things he could say to that, but thankfully he keeps them to himself. "So who are you?" Vanitas asks instead, as he gazes at her rosy cheeks. Of course he knows who she is. He knows all too well who Aqua is. But she doesn't know that. And at least once he wants to say her name without cursing her for one of her nasty spells.

At Vanitas' question, Aqua laughs much the way Vanitas had at her joke. When she sobers up, with tears of mirth still streaming from her eyes, she says, "I'm so sorry! I can't believe I haven't told you. My name is Aqua. And you are?"

And Vanitas can't answer that, can he? So instead he says, "I'm the guy who's going to kill you in ice-skating on your namesake."

It takes a moment for Aqua to understand what Vanitas means, but as she sees a frozen lake nearby, she can't help but blush and laugh as Vanitas skids away on it. He stops, however, when he realizes that Aqua isn't joining him. "Don't tell me you're too proud to be shown up?" Vanitas asks this with a challenge in his face and voice, but really Aqua could have been more prideful than Snow White's stepmother and he wouldn't have cared. He too was quite proud.

Of course, he should have known better than to think that of Aqua. "I don't know how to skate. My homeland never got weather like this."

And as Aqua puts a finger to the ice, as if it is going to crack and cut her with its jagged pieces, Vanitas simply has to tease her, "And where did you live, Miss Aqua? You must have been quite far from here." You'd think that after interacting with many people from different worlds, she would have had a better cover story.

And Aqua does react to that. She becomes stiffer, but thankfully she doesn't seem to want to leave Vanitas as to not say something wrong. Deciding it is too fun to ruffle her feathers, Vanitas says, "I'm from another world too."

And as he stops skating Figure 8s, he's glad he decided to _not_ irr on the side of caution. Aqua's expression is too priceless. "You're a Key bearer?"

"Born and raised." Too true that statement was. And to Vanitas' horror, Aqua does seem to be about to freeze up.

"That's impossible. After the Keyblade War the Masters decreased. Now there are only two, and I know you're not one of Eraqus' pupils."

Deciding to skate one more time, Vanitas speeds over to Aqua, and as she almost falls onto the ice herself (in an attempt to keep him from colliding with her), Vanitas is suddenly extremely glad for his speed. "You're forgetting to count yourself, sweetheart." Vanitas says as close to her face as he could dream.

And despite the immediate danger Aqua must have finally began to note, she doesn't pull away as soon as he thought she would. He thinks, maybe, that he could quickly brush his lips against hers, but even after this night he still knows the difference between dream and reality. In all honesty, it was a miracle Aqua hadn't run away screaming yet. Couldn't she feel his cold Darkness? "I was born and raised to be a Keyblader, Aqua," Vanitas says very close to Aqua's face, "but what I wouldn't give for you to be my Master."

"I'm not a Master. It was a fluke that Terra didn't surpass me. If it hadn't been for the Darkness in those orbs of Light-"

"Darkness can't be created, Aqua. It can only be channeled. Terra had Darkness from the very beginning. And that means he himself has always been Dark." _But be with Terra._ _His Darkness you can handle. Me on the other hand… this was a mistake. I'm the proof that Darkness can be created, but at what cost? _

"I don't believe that!" Aqua exclaims indignantly. She purposefully steps away from Vanitas, and rings her hands in the air in anger. "I don't believe all Darkness is evil. It's what I was taught, but-"

"But you love Terra."

"You're not my conscience, Vanitas! And I think other kinds of Darkness could be loved if they didn't fear it."

_Yes, Vanitas did love Aqua. But he didn't fear it. He just knew the truth: the more you love, the more you have to lose. Love didn't last. Hadn't their candles proven that?_ "How did you know?" Vanitas is powerless to not ask. He knows he should be getting the hell out of there, but he can't make himself. As he looks in Aqua's eyes, he can't feel anything but captivation and a need to be closer to the object of his affection.

"I knew from the beginning. We're strong in Light and Darkness, so we can sense each other's signatures. I just thought you wanted me to play dumb."

And at that, at seeing just how perfect they are for each other, Vanitas finds himself striding forward and stroking Aqua's cheek. "Then why didn't you kill me? You had the chance."

"Because everyone needs to believe in something on Christmas," She says this with shocking tears in her eyes, "I don't understand everything, but-"

"No, Aqua," Vanitas cuts her off. "You don't understand _anything_. And don't try to either. I told you believing in people will be the death of you, and if you come near me, I will _kill_ you."

"You musn't be afraid to feel," Aqua says with a voice and face equal to that of a scolded child.

"I'm afraid to EXIST. Big difference. And once my plans succeed-"

"You'll lose yourself."

"I already have."

Everything was still and quiet then. Not even the trees and birds dare make any noise. Vanitas knew very well that it was the calm before the storm. "This was a mistake," Aqua finally says.

And though Aqua can't see Vanitas' face from where she is at, he stifles a smile. It is good that she's finally seen what he himself should have, but couldn't. He also can't bring himself to agree with her. "Goodbye, Aqua. I'd go now if I were you. I granted you one day of reprise, but don't think I'll ever be merciful again. Go find your friends and make sure that no one really does mourn the loss of you," and though he said it sarcastically, he meant every word.

Vanitas did not look at Aqua as she unlocked the Lanes Between, but he did see the tears swirling in her eyes. He also did not tell his Master where he had gone.

But most of all he never told anyone about the perfect Christmas Eve he had, or how he'd prayed for Salvation that night. Not for himself like he once had, but for the Land of Departure's angel.

And Aqua, when Vanitas left her alive in Neveland, couldn't help but think of the time she left _him_ alive, and what could have been.

**Author's Note: Well, this ended a bit bittersweet. But really there was no other way for it. Especially not with Aqua having known it was him. And it was crucial for me that she know. Aqua's not an idiot, but she was willing to put their differences aside for this one Holiday. Also, I didn't want this to be a copy of Alacquiene's "Escape". Hahaha.**

**This was somewhat inspired by the last ever episode of _Tru Calling_ when Jack and Tru put aside their differences on Christmas. But it's also inspired by _The Deathly Hallows Part 1_ when Harry and Hermione go to Godric's Hollow on Christmas Eve. **

**I hope you enjoyed this, Alacquiene. As I love your Vanitas/Aqua stories, I thought it somewhat fitting to write a Vanitas/Aqua story for your birthday. **

**And Vanitas' real past paid a HUGE impact on this story. If you've gone to kh 13 . com (remove the spaces) and have read Vanitas' back story that was revealed in the BbS novel, you'll note the similarities. **

**It's so nice to know I was somewhat right about him. His story is so tragic! He really wasn't even evil to begin with. He was originally a lot like Ven. Maybe if something like this would have happened in Canon, Vanitas wouldn't have lost his mind.**

**I REALLY want him to be revived in KH3.**

**Also, you might as well ignore that this story takes place in France. I meant to tie in **_**Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas**_**, but that obviously didn't happen. You can imagine this story taking place wherever you want.**

**And please disregard any mistakes I may have made about France or Midnight Masse. I've actually never been to either, so what I know is very sketchy at best.**

**Hope you all enjoyed!**

**Happy Birthday, Celine! **


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